Boston inches toward normalcy as markers of intense week remain

WATERTOWN, Mass. — The intersection of Franklin and Washburn streets more resembled a neighborhood block party than a crime scene Saturday afternoon.

The sun was shining, people were full of chatter, and Lynwood gold forsythia and daffodils were in full bloom.

Teenagers toted cups of frozen yogurt from a FruttiBerri shop while adults sipped on coffee. Some people pushed baby carriages while others walked their dogs by the scene, pausing to take it all in.

Less than 24 hours prior, the quaint, close-knit New England neighborhood was under lockdown as Watertown police and other law enforcement engaged Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, a suspect in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, in a nearly 90-minute standoff at 67 Franklin St.

It ended Friday night in a resident's yard, where a bloodied Tsarnaev had taken refuge in a tarp-covered motor boat. He ultimately was captured, but not without a dramatic exchange of gunfire and flash grenades.

Grim as that was, countless people flocked to the scene Saturday to catch a glimpse of the lines of media trucks, clusters of cameras and cops, and perhaps, the now-infamous blood-stained boat.

Though a barricade was set across the intersection, a steady flow of onlookers circulated through the press staging area, some even stopping to pose for photos in front of it.

An adult mother-daughter couple drove from Needham, Mass. to take a look. Regina Thornton, who had grown up in the area before moving to Needham, wanted to see the piece of history.

Advertisement

"But it's really having that connection to the area, knowing people who lived on Mt. Auburn Street and knowing the streets around it, I think that's why we're drawn to it,' she said.

For her daughter, Casey Thornton of Brookline, it was a matter of making the surreal real.

"You see it on TV but this puts an image in perspective,' the younger Thornton said.

Jonathan de Arauio, a Watertown resident and relative of the home's owners, said family members began reaching out to one another as they watched the story unfold on national news.

"We were calling other people, hoping that everything was OK and hoping that everything worked out," de Araujo said.

A day after the lockdown, manhunt, decisive firefight and capture of a terror suspect, residents and visitors throughout Boston did their best to return to normalcy — but often the reminders of Monday's bombings were still too visible.

A historical actor guided a pair of tourists past an armored vehicle and a cluster of armed officers Saturday in the Boston Common, where one officer said police presence was still stepped up citywide.

South Station, which serves subway, Amtrak and bus passengers, was evacuated and searched briefly by a bomb squad at about noon. Police responded to a report of a suspicious package in a building next door, a transit official said. The scene was cleared, and the station returned to full service shortly.

Annie Le, who was traveling to Worcester, Mass., said she was not nervous about traveling, but officials told passengers to keep identification on them at all times and to tag all baggage.

Armed law enforcement officials were posted on train platforms. But tourists still made their way back into the city.

Myron Blanchard, a T-shirt vendor in Downtown Crossing, was back in buisness Saturday morning.

"It's a good sign,' he said. "Everyone's just getting back to normal.'

Blanchard said he was hoping to recoup losses sustained Friday during the lockdown.

Shawn Gear, a food vendor, also was happy to get back to work.

"I didn't get paid (yesterday),' said Gear, who earns an hourly wage. "There's no way I'm going to be able to make that up.'

Duck boats were back on the streets, and fans made their way to Boston Garden for Saturday's Bruins game as professional sports resumed after being canceled Friday due to the city-wide lockdown.

Tom Corazzini of Lexington, Mass., searched for an open bar before the Bruins game. It was a "party atmosphere' last night, he said. Corazzini wore a Bruins jersey and an American flag draped around his shoulders.

Bostonians were anxious for justice to be served. Some said they were happy that Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured alive, but Gear said he "would have liked to see it go the other way.'

Highway signs along the Massachusetts Turnpike flashed messages of gratitude. "Thank you all,' they read. "We are Boston strong.'

"Pride, a lot of pride,' Neil Goslin, a Boston resident, said in explaining the "Boston strong' slogan, which has become a rallying cry. "This is our town.'

Welcome to your discussion forum: Sign in with a Disqus account or your social networking account for your comment to be posted immediately, provided it meets the guidelines. (READ HOW.)
Comments made here are the sole responsibility of the person posting them; these comments do not reflect the opinion of The Sentinel and Enterprise. So keep it civil.